The Dec. 21 letter asked the police department to create a security plan for The Tunnel, an underage hip-hop dance club on Ives Street. Boughton also directed the department to station police officers at The Tunnel every Friday to make sure laws are not being broken.

"I'm the first one who doesn't want to be a killjoy," Boughton said. "But when you start mixing kids who are 12, 13, 14, and 15 years old with no supervision, you are just asking for trouble."

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Every Friday, Tuxedo Junction, the downtown club and bar, becomes The Tunnel, an alcohol-free dance club. The club attracts hundreds of teens from the region each week.

City officials said the kids are too young to be on Ives Street late at night. They've also raised questions about supervision, the mixing of older teens with younger ones and "inappropriate" behavior at the club.

The behavior includes freak dancing, where teen girls grind their backsides into young male dancers. It's a style of dance that has filtered down from 21-and-up clubs to
MTV
to middle and high school students.

Boughton said the owners of Tuxedo Junction would have to foot the bill for the police officers, which would cost them $1,000 a week.

Roveillo said his club decided two months ago to put an end to The Tunnel, which started in May. The last party is scheduled for Dec. 29. However, he said, there is a chance the parties may return in the spring or summer on a less regular basis.

Roveillo said Boughton's letter was just an attempt to pressure Tuxedo to stop hosting teen nights.

"Whether he can do that or not, I'll have to check with my attorney," Roveillo said. "In theory, I have no problem with (the police presence). Number one, I'm not doing anything illegal at my club. Number two, I haven't had any security issues at my club. His issues were about 'dirty dancing.' The club is safe."

The teens who go to The Tunnel, meanwhile, said the city government's stance underscores an old adage: parents just don't understand.

The News-Times first reported on the tunnel - and officials' concerns about it - earlier this month in a front page story Dec. 12. Dozens of teens sent angry e-mails to the newspaper, complaining the article wasn't fair and that there was nothing wrong with the dancing or other activities at the club.

Boughton said he's not surprised to hear teens are angry.

"Kids will say any behavior is OK," Boughton said. "They'll say a 12-year-old should be able to drive and drink alcohol. That's why they are kids. But it is up to adults to set the community standard for what is acceptable and what is not."

"As someone who worked with adolescents for years, the behavior that has been documented is not appropriate," he said. "You can't just dismiss inappropriate contact to 'That's what they're all doing on MTV so it must be OK.' It is not OK."

Boughton also said reports of teens smoking cigarettes shows laws are being broken at The Tunnel, which necessitates a police presence.

Roveillo, who is a grandfather, said city officials are "mean-spirited." He said Boughton should worry about cleaning up Ives Street in general.

"This whole issue is ludicrous to me. Instead of focusing on the bums and the homeless and the people snorting crack or whatever they do in the downtown area, he focuses on a teen night that is hurting nobody," Roveillo said.

Boughton said he's complained several times about other bars on Ives Street. The mayor said the teen night issue is the latest in a series of Ives Street headaches, including underage drinking, brawls and events like wet T-shirt contests that appeal to the "lowest common denominator."

Meanwhile, Weston, the city's acting chief of police, said his department is trying to figure out how many officers are needed to supervise The Tunnel.

He said the department will probably send undercover police officers - or young people working with police - into The Tunnel Dec. 29 to get a look at the club for themselves.

Finally, Jump Off Entertainment, the small company run by two city promoters who host the Tunnel parties, took down about 1,000 photos posted on the company Web site of teens dancing at The Tunnel.

Many of the photos featured kids grinding against each other. One picture, taken in May, showed a young man fondling a girl's breast as both smiled into the camera.

Roveillo said posting the pictures was a mistake and that he asked the promoters to remove the photos.

"That was totally uncalled for and should not have been there. It was meant in a positive way but I could see that situation as being a negative."